Why Mohammed Shami may not play in Test series against South Africa? BCCI gives major update

Mohammed Shami is India's most successful Test bowler against South Africa. His presence will be crucial on the bouncy pitches that will aid his type of bowling.

Arun Rawal

• Thu • 30 Nov 2023

Mohammed Shami bowling during WTC 2023 final against Australia (File Photo: Getty Images)

Highlights:

Mohammed Shami has 48 Test wickets against South Africa.

BCCI announced a 16-member Test squad for the South Africa tour.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) on November 30 announced India’s squad for the all-format series for the South Africa tour. A 16-member Test squad was announced with an asterisk beside Mohammed Shami’s name. There is a question mark on Shami’s availability for the two-Test series starting on December 26 in Centurion. BCCI in its release said that his availability is subject to fitness.

“Mr Mohd. Shami is currently undergoing medical treatment and his availability is subject to fitness,” the statement read.

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The selectors have added Shardul Thakur, Mukesh Kumar and Prasidh Krishna. The team management may hand the debut Test cap to Krishna if Shami does not regain full fitness in time. Krishna is capable of extracting bounce from any surface which may come in handy on bouncy pitches of South Africa.

Shami was in menacing form in the ICC Men’s ODI World Cup 2023. He took 24 wickets from seven appearances and finished the tournament as the highest wicket-taker.

Shami has not been added to the T20I and ODI squad. It will be interesting to see whether he plays in the inter-squad three-day warm-up game. It may prove has litmus test for his fitness.

Shami is just two wickets away from becoming the first Indian pacer to take 50 Test wickets against South Africa. He has 48 wickets from 11 Tests including three fifers.

India’s squad for Tests: Rohit Sharma (c), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Ruturaj Gaikwad, Ishan Kishan (wk), KL Rahul (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Shardul Thakur, Mohammed Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah (vc), Prasidh Krishna.

India Inter-squad three-day match: Rohit Sharma, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Shubman Gill, Abhimanyu Easwaran, Devdutt Padikkal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, Sarfaraz Khan, Pradosh Ranjan Paul, KS Bharat (wk), Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ishan Kishan (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin, Pulkit Narang, Harshit Rana, Shardul Thakur, Sourabh Kumar, Manav Suthar, Prasidh Krishna, Akash Deep, Vidhwath Kaverappa, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Mohammed Shami, Navdeep Saini.